God’s Will
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)
We’ve all wondered: what is God’s will for my life? Should I go to school here or there? Major in this or that? Marry now or later? Take one job or the other? Have this many kids, or more? And while God certainly has a plan for your life, the answers to these questions aren’t the primary answer to the question.
God’s will for your life is to glorify Him.
That’s it. The entire point of our existence is to glorify our Creator. And while you may still want answers to specific questions, God, in His kindness, grants us so much freedom to choose for ourselves in these matters. Whatever we choose and whatever we do, the call is the same: glorify the Lord (see Colossians 3:16-17).
So how do we do that? We give ourselves to Him wholly. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices, for this is the way we truly worship Him. Sometimes we confine worship to twenty minutes at the beginning of church on Sunday. Every part of our lives being fully submitted and surrendered to His Lordship is how we worship in spirit and truth.
This means that we’ll look different than those around us, not copying the behaviors and customs of the world. We’ll be out of step with what society says at times because we’ve committed to following what He says. The renewing of our minds transforms us. God will begin to change how you think, seeing things from His eternal perspective instead of our limited perspective. When this happens, we’ll start to understand more fully His will for our lives, which is all about bringing Him glory.
Application
Consider how you can worship God in your everyday rhythms. How can you glorify your Creator outside of a worship service? If the renewing of your mind wholly transformed your thinking, how would your relationships change? How would your attitude toward your resources change? How would the Kingdom be advanced?
Prayer
Father,
Help me to honor You in every part of my life. Sanctify me through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Continue to transform me by the renewing of my mind so that I will be able to glorify You.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?